


Love Enough and Pi(e)

by nagi_schwarz



Series: Getting Back Up Again [4]
Category: Criminal Minds (US TV), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Merlin (TV), Sherlock (TV), Spooks | MI-5, Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Crossover, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-03
Updated: 2018-08-03
Packaged: 2019-06-21 01:04:04
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,729
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15546186
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nagi_schwarz/pseuds/nagi_schwarz
Summary: Pi Approximation Day comes around again, with the non-American calendar system. Unfortunately, it's the same day as Evan's birthday, and Lucas's plans to celebrate Evan's birthday get a bit derailed. Luckily, Lucas has friends in high places.





	Love Enough and Pi(e)

Lucas awoke on the morning of Evan’s birthday long before the sun rose, because Evan was an early riser, and if Lucas wanted to surprise him with some sexytimes followed by breakfast in bed, well, he had to be the first one up.

He opened his eyes, reached across the bed. 

The sheets were cold.

Evan’s pillow was cold.

Lucas sat up, alarmed. He listened to Evan’s flat, but it was silent. Empty. While Evan had rather worn him out with some enthusiastic lovemaking the night before, Lucas wasn’t by nature a heavy sleeper, tended to be awakened by disturbances in his routine.

When he slept over at Evan’s flat, Evan usually was the first one awake, liked to go for a run before he showered and dressed and opened the bakery. 

Lucas glanced at the clock on the nightstand and saw that it was his usual normal wake-up time for the times he stayed over at Evan’s. Had Evan gone out running? Lucas reached out, skimmed on a pair of boxer briefs, prowled through the flat. Evan’s running shoes weren’t by the door. Evan’s wallet and keys weren’t in the bowl on the kitchen desk. By all appearances, Evan had gone running.

No matter. Assuming Evan had set off running at his usual time, if Lucas started some breakfast now, it’d be ready as soon as Evan got in the door. They could eat, shower together, and then maybe go back to bed and get dirty all over again, nap, have some more sex, and then shower again before proceeding with the rest of Lucas’s birthday plans.

Lucas had eggy in a basket, fried tomatoes, and fried mushrooms ready to serve when Evan came through the door, gleaming with sweat and breathing hard. His face lit when he saw Lucas, and he leaned in for a kiss, just a brief brush of lips so he didn’t get Lucas all damp.

“That smells amazing. Let me rinse off really fast and I’ll be right there.”

And Evan was heading into the bathroom, stripping off his clothes as he went, before Lucas could get a word in edgewise.

“All right,” Lucas said faintly, to the closed bathroom door. He sighed, served up plates for both of them, then set some of the dishes to soaking in the sink.

Evan emerged, pink and freshly-scrubbed and damp, shirtless and downright beautiful.

Lucas drew him into a more thorough good morning kiss.

“You know, we could go back to bed,” Lucas murmured against Evan’s mouth.

Evan kissed him softly, sweetly. “Not really. Gotta get downstairs and get the shop open.”

“Shop?” Lucas echoed.

“Yeah. It’s Pi Day. Again.”

Lucas pulled back, surprised. Evan nodded, reached for the plate of breakfast Lucas had prepared for him.

“I did some asking around. Turns out the non-American Pi Day is July Twenty-Second. Twenty-two divided by three is the same as Pi to the first two decimals, so - I’m having a second Pi Day. The first one was a pretty big hit. Parvati and Lavender stayed late last night to help me prep fillings.”

Lucas stared at Evan while he dug into his breakfast. Of course, Lucas’s birthday plans for Evan had all been a surprise. There was no way Evan could have known about them, so it wasn’t like Evan was deliberately trying to avoid them.

Evan smiled at him. “These tomatoes are delicious. You have to tell me your secret sometime.”

“Sometime,” Lucas said, because he’d almost said that he’d learned how to cook from his father, and he never talked about his father.

Evan continued to eat his breakfast like it was any normal day, so Lucas joined in. Was his intel wrong? He was pretty sure it wasn’t. There was no reason for Evan’s birthday to be classified, and no reason for his CIA contact to lie about that kind of thing.

“If you need an extra pair of hands, I’ve the day off.”

Evan’s face lit up. “Really? I mean, if it’s your day off, you should take it off, not work for zero pay in my bakery.”

Lucas leaned in, pressed a kiss to Evan’s bare shoulder. “I want to spend my day off with you. If that means dealing with hordes of pie-rabid customers, so be it.”

“This time I’ll remember to save some pie for us,” Evan said.

Lucas shook his head. “Leave the problem of supper to me.” So what if his morning birthday plans had gone awry? He still had the rest of the day to make Evan feel loved and extra-special.

Evan smiled. “That sounds perfect. Maybe you can cut out a bit early while we close up, get some take-out. Anything you like.”

“Something like that,” Lucas said.

Evan finished his breakfast. “You cooked. I’ll wash up while you hop in the shower.” He put his plate in the sink.

Lucas showered fast. Of course Evan had a spare set of toiletries in the bathroom just for Lucas, as well as several clean changes of clothes for Lucas in one of his bureau drawers. While Evan was more than welcome to spend the night at Lucas’s, his flat was actually closer to the Grid than Lucas’s was, and also Evan understood that Lucas’s flat was inspected by MI-5 on the regular. Whatever Evan had done with the military before, MI-5 left his flat alone, and Lucas liked the privacy there.

They’d never discussed Lucas moving in. Lucas was pretty sure Evan wasn’t opposed to it, but -

But today was Evan’s birthday and apparently he planned on working himself ragged for it, and Lucas would have to help Evan as much as possible so he wasn’t too ragged at the end of the day.

By the time Lucas was clean, shaven, and dressed, Evan had cleaned up the kitchen and it was time to head downstairs and open the bakery. Evan let Parvati and Lavender in through the back, and the three of them set about preparing dough for pie crusts. Lucas went to sort out the front of the shop, make sure there was change in the till, that the credit card machine had proper connectivity, and that the shop was presentable for customers.

When Lucas opened the blinds on the shop windows, he was startled by the eager faces pressing eagerly against the glass. A dozen strangers beamed at him and waved.

Lucas unlocked the front door and stepped out. “We don’t open for another half an hour,” he said apologetically, because it was all of half past six.

“We know, dearie,” an older woman said. “We just wanted to be the first in line.”

Lucas craned his neck and saw that the line stretched all the way to the end of the block but didn’t curve around the corner. Yet.

“It’s going to be a warm day today,” Lucas said, “but how about a nice warm cuppa? I’m sure one of the girls can brew one up fast.”

The bakery didn’t have an instant kettle, but water always seemed to boil faster for Lavender and Parvati when tea was in demand.

The older woman beamed at him. “That would be lovely, duck. Thank you.”

Lucas studied her for a moment, then sighed, held the door open wider. “As I said, the first pies won’t be ready for half an hour, but you might as well come in and rest yourself.”

Thankfully, all of the customers formed a neat queue. Lucas set out several chairs for the more aged in the crowd, so they could rest their weary bones. Then he poked his head into the back.

“A queue has been forming since I don’t know when. I let them in so they could sit down, relax. Can we fix them some tea?” he asked.

Lavender and Parvati exchanged looks, and then Parvati went to wash her hands.

“I’ll make the tea,” she said. “Take my spot?”

Lucas nodded, washed his hands, pulled on an apron. Ever since he’d started dating Evan, his cooking and baking skills had improved immensely. He didn’t think he’d ever love cooking and baking like Evan did, but he did think he could be all right with standing beside Evan in this kitchen for the rest of his life.

Unfortunately for him, MI-5 was still interested in him, invested in him and what he might have tucked away in his head from his time in Russia. Any attempt to retire early would result in quite strict scrutiny, and he didn’t want Evan to have to suffer through that. Besides, no one on the Grid knew about Evan, at least not officially, and Lucas liked it that way. Everyone knew about Elizabeth, and Lucas still got grief over her.

Lucas mixed the dough, then handed it off to Lavender to roll out and shape. Once Parvati had served tea to those who wanted it, she took Lucas’s place - because he could be trusted to top up people’s tea. Lucas rinsed his hands, dried them, and then set about putting out the signage for the display case. Evan was offering generous deals - one slice of savory pie plus one slice of dessert pie for a full meal discount, discounts on an entire pie or two pies or even two slices of a single kind of pie, a date night deal as it were. 

Whatever Evan had done to advertise the second Pi Day had obviously been very effective. When he came out of the back with the first tray of pies to go into the display case, there was applause.

Evan paused, startled, but then he took a bow, blushing. Lucas moved to help him lever the pies into the case. It was Lavender who officially changed the sign on the door from  _ closed _ to  _ open, _ and the first customer stepped up to the counter to place her order.

Evan and Lavender stayed in the back, Evan focusing on making the pies while Lavender cut them and set them in the display case. Parvati ran the sales point, and Lucas served up the pies. The four of them had established a rhythm by this point, and Lucas was pleased with their teamwork, but he was still baffled as to how Evan thought a team of four was sufficient for a day like today.

And he was still trying to think of a way to spirit Evan away for some much-needed birthday celebration.

Lucas had some hope that today wouldn’t be horribly busy once the initial morning rush died down, when the line down to the corner dissolved and the stream of customers remained steady but slow enough that he and the others could pause, catch their breath. If the line continued to slow down, maybe it would reach a point where Lucas could take Evan out for a nice, relaxing lunch.

Mrs. Hudson from down the street came up the steps, two of her tenants and three of their friends - two more men and another woman - trailing behind her. Lucas hadn’t realized he knew Evan’s regulars, but apparently he was more of a regular in the shop than even he realized.

“Hello, dearie,” she said to Lucas, smiling at him.

He smiled back. “Hello, Mrs. Hudson.”

Sherlock was eyeing him closely, like he always did.

“Molly, Greg, what would you like for supper?” Mrs. Hudson asked two of the people with her. 

Lucas was pretty sure he’d never met them before, though he recognized Sherlock and John.

“Just Molly and Greg?” Sherlock protested.

“They’re guests, dear,” Mrs. Hudson said.

Molly’s expression was hesitant. She bit her lip, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, looked at Greg.

“Steak and kidney for dinner,” he said. “And how about some eccles cake for dessert?”

Parvati rang them up. “Anything else?”

“That’ll be everything, thank you,” Mrs. Hudson said, and handed over some cash.

Lucas boxed up two whole pies and handed them over to Greg, who accepted them with a nod. Sherlock cast Lucas a sharp look before he followed the others out of the shop.

Lucas watched him go and still wasn’t sure whether he wanted to know what other things Sherlock could see in him. He wiped crumbs off the counter and threw them away, dusted off his hands and hurried back to Parvati’s side to take the next order. He paused when he recognized the three women at the counter. 

“What about an apple pie?” Ruth said. “That’s very American, isn’t it? This is an American bakery.” She looked at Jo and Ros for confirmation.

“That sounds lovely,” Jo said.

Ros said, “Lucas?”

Jo and Ruth looked at him.

“Hello,” he said, a little helplessly.

“I thought you were taking today off,” Ros said.

Ruth looked alarmed. “Are you working two jobs? I didn’t think the pay was that bad.”

“I am taking today off,” Lucas said. “I’m just helping here today. Because I can.”

Ros narrowed her eyes. “Because you can.”

Lucas cleared his throat. “Yes. I knew today would be very busy, and I like to be helpful.”

Jo offered Parvati a bright smile. “Apple pie it is. For everyone at the office to share.” She opened her wallet. “How much?”

Parvati told her, nudged Lucas, and he went to fetch a pie out of the display case and box it up.

Ros and Ruth drifted along the counter with him, Ruth looking embarrassed and anxious, Ros looking shrewd and calculating.

Evan emerged from the back with another pie, set it on the counter to cool, took a couple of the cooled pies and eased them into the case. He and Lucas usually shifted around each other neatly, because they were used to being in each other’s space, were a team and a unit, but with Lucas’s coworkers staring at him, everything was tense, and he ended up accidentally elbowing Evan, and Evan nearly dropped a pie, and Lucas spun around and caught him, and they paused for a moment, looking at each other.

“You okay?” Evan asked.

“I should be asking you that.”

Evan waggled the intact pie. “Everything is fine. If we both go right -”

“Right.” Lucas slid to the side, let Evan go around him. He finished boxing up the pie, set it and some plastic forks and serviettes in a brown paper bag with handles, and slid it across the counter.

“What about Elizabeth?” Ros asked in a low voice, accepting the bag.

“She’s my FSB handler and nothing more.” Lucas kept his voice equally low.

Ros watched Evan as he headed back into the kitchen. “Ex-military?”

“He’s handsome,” Ruth offered.

Lucas said, louder, “Enjoy your pie. Happy Pi Day.”

Jo waved, and then the three ladies departed, headed back to the Grid with their prize, likely to share it with Malcolm and Harry and the rest. Lucas wondered what else they would share with Section D.

Lucas had to dodge around Lavender as she came out of the back with another tray of pies and tarts. He ducked into the back so he could have a drink of water, take a deep breath, calm his racing heart. He’d been in far more stressful situations than this, but -

But his time with Evan was  _ his, _ his safe place, his escape from everything that his life and work entailed, the deception and the danger. Now that the others knew -

No. Today was Evan’s birthday, and today was Pi Day, and Evan needed all the help he could get.

“You all right?” Evan asked.

Lucas nodded. “Yes. Just - needed a moment.”

Evan smiled, kissed him on the mouth. “Today has been incredibly busy already. Having you here has been amazing in more ways than one. Thank you.”

“The day’s not over yet,” Lucas murmured, kissed him back. “You may regret-”

“I never regret my time with you.” Evan kissed him one more time, careful not to get flour on Lucas’s clothes. “Now go, get your pretty face out there and sell some pie.”

Lucas couldn’t help it - he laughed and ducked back out to the front.

Parvati was helping more customers, one of whom Lucas recognized as a semi-regular.

Emily was an American Interpol agent, had dark hair and bright eyes and spoke several languages. She was always dressed sleek and professional, with bright red lipstick. She looked like Snow White, if Snow White wore Burberry scarves and carried a firearm.

She liked to practice her languages on Lucas, so she greeted him in French.

He responded in Italian, and she smiled. She had a friend with her, a pretty blonde woman who was also American.

“What’ll it be today?” Parvati asked.

“Strawberry rhubarb, please. Two slices,” Emily said. She paid while her friend followed Lucas along the counter.

He boxed up a couple of slices and handed her the bag.

“So,” the blonde woman said, looking him up and down, “you’re a baker.”

“Just an assistant today,” he said. “It’s a special day.”

“Pi Day.”

“Also the baker’s birthday.”

The woman smiled. “Tell her happy birthday for us.”

“I will,” Lucas said.

Emily joined her friend, accepted the bag, and together they headed for the door.

“He’s cute,” the blonde woman said.

“And totally taken.”

“They always are.”

Much to Lucas’s frustration, things didn’t really slow down after lunch, and all four of them were kept busy on their feet, Evan and Lavender baking, Parvati and Lucas helping customers. Evan seemed perfectly happy to be baking endless pies, looked quite dashing in his flour-dusted chef jacket. Lucas checked his mobile occasionally, hoping that his evening plans could somehow still occur. His accomplices had positive reports so far, and Lucas was cautiously optimistic.

Finally, finally there was a lull, and Lucas was prepared to grab Evan, spirit him out back for some fresh air, maybe play a song on his phone and have a dance and a cuddle, but four people came into the shop, three men and a woman.

“This it?” the tallest man asked. He was well over six feet, broad-shouldered, with a curious tattoo on the side of his neck. He would be dangerous in a fight. He had an American accent.

“Pretty sure,” one of the other men said. He had dark spiky hair and dark eyes, was slender through the hips and shoulders, wiry-strong.

The third man - lighter-haired, blue-eyed, soft around the middle but strong across the chest and shoulders - went straight up to the counter. “I’m looking for Evan Lorne.”

Parvati blinked. “Er, hello. Welcome to the The Mix-Up. I think Evan’s in the back making more pies. Whom shall I say has come calling?”

“Rodney,” the man said.

Parvati nodded. “Of course. Erm - would you like any pies while you wait? We’re having special sales for Pi Day. Lucas, would you fetch Evan?”

Lucas nodded, started for the back, but then Lavender and Evan emerged, both laden with pies.

“And that’s it,” Evan said. “We are officially out of supplies. We will go till close or we sell out - whichever comes first.”

“Evan,” Parvati said, “Rodney is here to see you.”

Evan almost dropped his baking tray. Lucas burned his fingertips rescuing it. Lavender, who had oven mitts, snatched the tray from him, and Parvati hustled him into the back to use some of her special homemade burn cream on him. Lucas twitched impatiently beneath her ministrations, because he’d seen the look on Evan’s face when he saw Rodney.

“ - And long story short -” Rodney was saying as Lucas emerged from the back.

“Too late. It’s already long,” the tall man said.

“I finally found this.” Rodney pushed a folded piece of paper across the counter.

Evan stared at it but didn’t touch it. “I know what it says.”

“You never said anything.” Rodney swallowed hard. “You just - retired.”

“As was my prerogative, after twenty years of service to my country,” Evan said quietly.

“If I’d found it, I would have -”

“Would have what?” Evan asked. “While you were struck with the illness, the person you wanted wasn’t me. It was him.” He nodded at the dark-haired man, who shifted his weight awkwardly, expression guilty.

“Lorne,” the man began.

“Sir,” Evan said, “what’s done is done. I have a good life here.”

“You know DADT was repealed,” Evan’s former superior officer said.

Evan nodded. “I heard. I’m glad. Doesn’t mean I’m going back out there.” Then he looked at Rodney. “You didn’t come all the way out here just to ask me to -?”

Rodney looked away.

“No,” the woman said. “We are also taking a holiday.”

Evan smiled at her. “Good to see you, Teyla.”

“And you, Major.”

“Retired,” he said, and she inclined her head politely.

“Of course.” She smiled back at him. “Ronon and I are very much enjoying our time with Rodney and John. People here are kind and welcoming.”

“I’m glad,” Evan said. 

There was a certain weighty undercurrent to Teyla’s words that Lucas couldn’t quite decipher, in  _ people here _ .

“Can we get some pie?” the tall man asked Evan. “I miss your pie.”

“Ronon,” Rodney hissed.

Parvati smiled and straightened up. “Of course! It’s Pi Day. What would you like?”

John cleared his throat. “Also I came to give you a heads up. In person. Declassification. It starts next year.”

Evan’s eyes went wide. “You mean -”

“Broad strokes, at first. But you were my 2IC for five years, so your name is in a lot of reports. People might have questions,” John said.

“Right. Of course. Thank you for the heads up.” Evan blinked, dazed.

“I’m sure you’ll be getting a letter, but - you deserved to know directly from me,” John said.

“You could have called,” Evan said faintly.

“You deserve better than that,” John said quietly.

Lavender cleared her throat loudly. “So, pie for the lovely and tall Ronon. Any pie for anyone else?”

“Do you have anything citrus-free?” Rodney asked.

Parvati nodded. “Yes. We always have a selection of citrus-free items. This way.” She beckoned Rodney toward the display case.

It was true. Evan always made a few items that catered to specific dietary restrictions - gluten-free, vegan, lactose-free. Lucas had been puzzled about citrus-free items, because as far as he knew, citrus allergies were rare.

Lavender and Parvati assisted Evan’s former colleagues with their pie purchases.

“While we are here,” Teyla said, “what do you recommend we see? Besides the giant ferris wheel, the king’s palace, and the tower where jewelry is kept.”

Evan helped Lucas box up the various slices of pie. Teyla and John had each selected one slice, Rodney had selected two, and Ronon had selected four.

“Well, Lucas took me to a play in the West End, and that was fun. The British Museum, the National Gallery, and the Tate are always fun. Big Ben and the Houses of Parliament. Covent Garden is fun. Walking along the South Bank in the evening is pleasant. Anything else, Lucas?” Evan glanced at him.

“If you’ve a mind for Shakespeare, taking in a play at The Globe is quite enjoyable,” Lucas said, keeping his tone polite and even.

He noticed the way Rodney narrowed his eyes, saw realization cross John and Teyla and Ronon’s faces as well.

Rodney opened his mouth to speak, but the bells over the door chimed, and two women walked in.

Lucas recognized them immediately. The tall, pale woman with the dark hair and blue eyes and slender throat was none other than Lady Morgana, Duchess of Kent, half-sister to Prince Arthur Pendragon, and the sweet-faced, dark-skinned woman beside her was Gwen Smith, her chief lady-in-waiting.

“Your Grace,” Lucas said, inclining his head politely.

“No need to stand on formality,” she said, waving a dismissive hand. “Gwen and I are here to celebrate Pi Day. What do you recommend?” This she directed at Evan.

“Excuse me,” Evan said to Teyla and his teammates. “It was lovely to see you again. Enjoy your visit to London.” He moved back toward the cash register to speak to Morgana. “Are you interested in something savory or something sweet?”

Parvati and Lavender gazed at Morgana and Gwen, wide-eyed with awe.

“Thank you for the pies and the travel advice,” Teyla said to Lucas.

He nodded at her.

Ronon was already digging into his box of pie. 

John met Lucas’s gaze for a moment, neither challenge nor question, just acknowledgment.

It was Rodney who said, “Take care of him.”

Lucas said, “As long as he’ll let me.”

Rodney smiled, terribly wistful, and followed the others out of the shop.

Evan and Lavender served up pie for the Duchess and her lady, and then both of them took a selfie with their purchases before they departed. Morgana winked at Lucas over her shoulder as she headed for the door.

Lucas pretended not to notice, inclined his head politely in farewell.

Then he turned to Evan, who was staring down at the piece of paper Rodney had left behind. He’d unfolded it and was reading it. His expression was drawn, sorrowful.

“Are you all right?”

Evan said, “I really did love him. It wasn’t easy, realizing my love wasn’t enough to overcome what followed.”

“I’m sure you loved him with all your heart,” Lucas said quietly.

Evan turned to him. “Well, now my heart belongs to you. And this bakery. Which is finally quiet. Lavender, Parvati, do you think you can handle things yourselves if Lucas and I step out for some fresh air?”

Lavender and Parvati cast cautious looks at Lucas, who arched one eyebrow pointedly, and then they both nodded. 

“Of course,” Lavender said. “Go, enjoy the bright summer day.”

Evan nodded, and Lucas went to untie his apron, and then two dozen teenage girls flooded into the bakery all at once.

Evan’s eyes went wide. Lucas stepped in front of him instinctively, which was silly, because Evan was perfectly capable of defending himself, but -

“Happy Pi Day, and welcome to The Mix-Up,” Lucas said smoothly. “What flavor would you like your Pi Day celebration to be?”

One of the girls held out her mobile, showed Lucas the photo of Morgana and Gwen showing off their pies.

“This is the bakery Lady Morgana came to, isn’t it?” she asked.

Lucas affected a cautious tone. “Yes, but -”

“What kinds of pie did they buy?” another girl asked.

Lucas said, “They didn’t have anything specific in mind when they came in,” which was true. “They trusted Evan, our baker, to help them make a selection. Do you prefer sweet or savory?”

All of the girls immediately focused on Evan, and he looked alarmed for a moment before he stepped out from behind Lucas.

The four of them had to hustle, boxing up pies and ringing up customers. For every satisfied customer who departed, another appeared, inquiring after Her Grace’s taste in pie.

The bakery was completely cleaned out in under an hour.

Evan, Lucas, Parvati, and Lavender sank down at one of the little tables after Evan turned the sign from  _ open _ to  _ closed _ and added a little handwritten sign that they were out of supplies for the day but  _ Thanks to everyone who celebrated Pi Day with us! _

“Well,” Evan said. “I didn’t see that coming.”

“I suppose we should expect that if, you know, Her Grace and Gwen ever come again,” Parvati said faintly.

Lavender nodded, also looking a little dazed. “I agree.” Then she straightened up. “But our work day is over and we can go celebrate Pi Day elsewhere!”

“I did bake some pies just for us,” Evan said. “So we can all eat today after our hard work and so no one has to cook.”

“You mean so you did all the cooking,” Lucas said.

Evan smiled. “I love making food for other people. I really don’t mind it.”

“I know you do,” Lucas said, “but perhaps sometimes you can let other people provide the food for you.”

Evan eyed him. “Something about the way you said that makes me think that suggestion isn’t just theoretical.”

“Indeed it is not,” Lucas said. “Lavender, Parvati, how about you take those pies Evan made and indeed go celebrate elsewhere? Evan and I need to have a little chat.”

Both young women looked at him with wide eyes, but at Lucas’s pointed look they both nodded, skeddadled into the back, collected the chicken pot pie and coconut cream pie, called out farewells, and ducked out of the shop.

“A chat?” Evan asked. “Am I in trouble?”

“Quite the opposite,” Lucas said. “I’ve been meaning to say this all day, but you’ve had quite busy plans for the pseudo-holiday, and I wanted to talk about it while it’s just us.”

“Oh?”

“Happy Birthday,” Lucas said. “Today you wanted to celebrate Pi. Today I want to celebrate you. I had plans -”

Evan’s expression immediately turned apologetic. “And I totally ruined them -”

“Not your fault. You couldn’t have known. I wanted to surprise you.” Lucas smiled. “But we still have the rest of the day ahead of us.”

“Yes, we do. Where do we start?”

Lucas wrapped his arms around Evan and pulled him in for a kiss. “I was hoping upstairs, in your bed.”

Evan smiled. “Sounds perfect. Happy Birthday to me.”

It wasn’t until a couple of hours later, after slow and luxurious lovemaking, that Evan thought to ask.

“How did you know today was my birthday?”

“I might or might not have asked a CIA contact,” Lucas said.

Evan was tucked beside him, both of them naked and pleasantly exhausted. “You could have asked me.”

“But then you might suspect I had surprise plans for you.”

“Before, when I was the logistics officer, I knew everything on base. No one was ever able to surprise me,” he admitted.

Lucas pressed a kiss to his bare shoulder. “Then I consider today partially a success.”

“Partially?”

“Well, my plans did cover the entire day, but you’re such a hard worker and love your bakery so much -”

Evan groaned. “Why didn’t you say anything?”

“I tried, but you got right into the shower.” Lucas kissed him. “It’s fine. I’m not angry. I got to spend most of the day with you while you do what you love. But now, finally, it’s just the two of us.”

“Did Lavender and Parvati know?”

“I don’t think they know it’s your birthday, or that I had plans for you. But we still have supper plans, if you’d like them.”

“I would like them,” Evan said.

“Good. Let’s clean up, and then you can have your birthday dinner.”

“When’s your birthday?” Evan asked.

Lucas grinned. “See if you can find out.” And then he rolled out of bed, headed for the shower.

Evan joined him, and they took their time cleaning up, kissing under the warm water. There was a certain domesticity to standing side-by-side at the mirror, shaving and brushing their teeth. Elizabeth had always preferred to go about her morning and evening ablutions alone, and Lucas hadn’t minded, because that always gave him a chance to do any work-related covert communication. But now he could glance up in the mirror and see Evan beside him, and it felt right.

Evan was clever, asking suggestions about what to wear, ostensibly so he looked good but really so he could find out where they were going for supper.

Lucas said comfortable was fine, but he did recommend a certain shirt that made Evan’s eyes bluer than usual. Both of them wore blue shirts, dark slacks, and had light jackets in case the evening turned cool, and then they set out.

Lucas called for a cab on the way out the door. Evan locked up, and then Lucas put a hand on his arm.

“One more thing. To maintain the surprise.”

“Oh?” Evan raised his eyebrows.

Lucas held up a blindfold. “If it’s too much, you just have to keep your eyes closed.” He didn’t like being tied up, and he wasn’t a particular fan of being blindfolded either, and Evan had accepted his requests without pressing for an explanation.

“I trust you,” Evan said, and reached for the blindfold. He fastened it on neatly, then reached out, offered Lucas his hand.

Lucas laced their fingers together, and then the cab arrived.

Lucas guided Evan into the back seat, and then he leaned forward, handed the cabbie the address of their destination on a piece of paper.

“Very good, sir,” the cabbie said.

“Of course you have it written down.” Evan squeezed Lucas’s hand. “You really did have ornate plans, didn’t you?”

“For your special day,” Lucas said. “I suppose it’s only appropriate, that a baker’s birthday falls on Pi Day.”

“When would an appropriate birthdate for a cellist be?” Evan asked. “Maybe the day Pachelbel composed or finished the Canon in D.”

“Because Pachelbel wrote a stellar part for the cellists.”

“I’ve heard rumors that Pachelbel liked cellists about as much as Nobel liked mathematicians,” Evan said.

Lucas chuckled softly. “Well, cellists are very good with their hands.”

Evan smiled and leaned in, and Lucas kissed him.

They reached their destination in short order, and Lucas paid the cabbie.

It was Gwen who opened the door for them, and Lucas stepped out first, offered Evan a hand. Gwen showed them into the building, and they took a lift up to the top floor. The plan was supper on the rooftop under the summer stars.

But first, they could watch the sunset.

Lucas guided Evan off of the lift, up a small flight of stairs, and out onto the roof. Evan sensed that they were outdoors again, tipped his head back and smiled at the sky even though he couldn’t see it.

Soft, romantic piano strains filtered through the air, chasing away the sounds of the city and traffic below.

“Can I look now?” Evan asked.

Lucas reached up, unfastened the blindfold.

Evan sucked in a sharp breath as he took in the view - verdant rooftop garden, trailing trellises. And then he looked and saw the grand piano that was on a wooden platform in the center of the garden, where none other than the Prince of Wales was playing, his half-sister wearing an opera gown and holding her violin.

“Arthur?” Evan asked, reflexively, because in the months since the last Pi Day, Merlin and Prince Arthur had become regulars at the bakery, hanging about in the back making pies and pastries whenever they wanted to escape the madness that was Arthur’s life in the press, every second of every day photographed and filmed and recorded and dissected on social media and news media.

“Happy birthday,” Arthur said, smiling, and kept on playing.

Merlin, dressed in his finest serving uniform, white gloves and coattails, sketched a deep bow. “Supper will be served momentarily. If you’d like to take a turn around the garden in the meantime, please enjoy yourselves.”

There was a ringed walkway all around the garden, so they could look out over the city and watch the sunset.

“Let’s go,” Lucas said, and nudged Evan toward the walkway.

“Earlier today,” Evan said. “When Lady Morgana and Gwen came into the shop. You knew -”

“I may have helped speed things along a bit,” Lucas admitted. “Don’t worry about the shop anymore. Let’s just enjoy this evening. It’s your special day.”

Evan took a deep breath. “All right. Thank you, Lucas. This is amazing.”

They walked along the edge of the garden, gazed out over the city. Lucas told Evan what he knew of the history of the city, skipping over how he knew some parts of the city rather intimately, having gone on a foot chase here or staked out in a safe house there. They paused to watch the sun set. 

“The colors are just beautiful,” Evan said. “I can almost feel them under my hands. So vibrant. But the blending is so subtle. There are colors in there that we don’t have names for.”

“Finders keepers,” Lucas murmured. “Mix them up and name them yourself.”

“Some of them would look beautiful on your skin,” Evan said.

The first time Evan had described body painting, he’d looked dreamy and wistful. It sounded beautiful, intimate, but Lucas was still terribly self-conscious of his prison tattoos. Evan had a couple of tattoos, but it wasn’t the same. At all.

Gwen summoned them to supper, and they sat at a small table set for two, with a creamy linen tablecloth, candles, and a small pink rose in a vase.

The meal was exquisite, because they’d been given use of the royal chef for one night, and Evan was impressed. 

He and Lucas talked about how well things had gone at the shop that day, and Lucas told Evan that some of his coworkers had stopped by, and they talked a bit about what declassification might mean - anything from a formal interview to reporters digging through Evan’s rubbish bins, and also things they hadn’t even thought of. Evan told Lucas about birthdays past, how as a child he’d always been given gifts meant to educate him away from his military goals, and how as an adult he’d always been injured or otherwise had a pretty awful time of it, so he’d just sort of stopped celebrating his birthdays. Lucas told Evan about some of his favorite childhood birthdays, and some of his favorite birthdays as an adult, some of the best and worst gifts he’d received.

After the meal, Gwen and Merlin whisked their dishes away.

“Even though today is Pi Day,” Lucas said, “it’s also your birthday, and to that end we have cake.”

“Cake?” Evan echoed.

Lucas nodded. “I promise it’s up to even your standard.”

Finding out Evan’s favorite flavor of cake had been quite the task, and Lucas had quizzed Lavender and Parvati for months, asked them for their observations, watched Evan himself before he finally figure it out.

Delicate, fluffy angel food cake was his favorite. Light and sweet but in the end simple.

Morgana, Arthur, Gwen, and Merlin brought out a cake with a single candle on it, serenading Evan with the birthday song. They set the cake in front of them, and Lucas said, 

“Make a wish.”

Evan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, then blew the candle out.

Everyone applauded.

Evan said, “Please, sit,” to Morgana and Gwen and Merlin and Arthur. “There’s more than enough for all six of us. And besides, you’ve made my birthday more amazing than I ever could have hoped for.”

“What did you hope for?” Gwen asked.

“Mostly not to get injured,” Evan said. “My birthdays past have been cursed.”

“Well, not today,” Merlin said. “Seems the fates are on your side.”

“Or maybe,” Arthur said, “someone has a little bit of magic.”

The cake was divine, and Lucas, who was a connoisseur of cake, was almost in heaven. Evan seemed equally pleased with the cake, and some of the noises he made as he ate his slice were rather distracting.

Once the meal was finished, they took another turn around the gardens, looking out over the starlit city, the flow of lights below. Arthur and Morgana took up their instruments once more, and Evan and Lucas danced under the stars.

When it was time for everyone to go home, Evan thanked the others profusely - because in what universe did royalty serve a birthday supper for a common man, and a foreigner at that? - and then he and Lucas went back down to the street to catch a cab back to Evan’s place.

“Thank you,” Evan said. “Today was wonderful. Officially my best birthday ever.”

“Hopefully next year will be better,” Lucas said.

“As long as it’s with you.” Evan squeezed his hand.

“I’ve a present for you,” Lucas said.

Evan raised his eyebrows. “You mean that wonderfully romantic rooftop meal wasn’t it?”

“Well, then I’ve another present for you,” Lucas said.

“Do I have to close my eyes?”

“No, you’d best keep them open,” Lucas said. “Seeing as how you thought some of the colors in tonight’s sunset would look good on my skin.”

Evan’s eyes went wide, but his expression was solemn. “Really?”

“Really.”

“But you -”

“I trust you. And - I want to take myself back. And give it all to you.”

Evan leaned in and kissed him, long and deep and sweet. Then he said, “Cabbie, step on it.”

The cabbie chuckled. “Yes, sir.”

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the story_works Pi Day 2 Challenge.
> 
> Much gratitude to the ineffable Brumeier and SherlockianSyndromes for their beta work and to Bru for the title.


End file.
